Cork forward Brian Hurley to miss Munster final

Cork manager John Cleary has confirmed that Brian Hurley will miss the Munster SFC final against Kerry on Sunday week in Killarney.

The Castlehaven man is sidelined after picking up a groin injury in last weekend’s win over Tipperary in Thurles. It’s another tough break for a player who has had more than his share of setbacks, and Cleary didn’t hide the disappointment of losing such an experienced forward at this stage of the season.

“It looks like Brian won’t make it now,” Cleary said on Tuesday evening.

“He got a groin injury the last day. We’re awaiting the final medical assessment but realistically I don’t think he’ll make it on Sunday week.

“We just haven’t got the final scans back on it. But with something like that, you don’t get a player back in two weeks, so it looks like it’ll be a bit longer than that.” 

The injury is likely to keep Hurley out for several weeks, meaning Cork will have to plan without him not only for Killarney but possibly into the early stages of the All-Ireland series.

Hurley had been moving well and building a bit of momentum after a stop-start spell earlier in the year.

“Ah, yeah. It’s a pity for any player, particularly for Brian and the service he’s given,” the Cork boss says.

“He’s had his injury issues in the past and he had a couple of niggling injuries this year. It’s just unfortunate what happened the last day but that’s the way things have gone. There are lots of injuries around the place and unfortunately Brian has got one this time.” 

When asked if there were any fresh concerns beyond Hurley, Cleary was reasonably positive.

“I don’t think so, no. Dara Sheedy, we won’t know maybe until next week where we’re situated with him. He’s on the mend but the Munster final might come a small bit too soon for him. Other than that, it’s all systems go.” 

There was also an update on Matty Taylor, who has been sidelined for some time due to a shoulder injury. While the defender won’t feature in Killarney, Cleary expects him to be back soon afterwards.

“Matty Taylor isn’t far away either. We’d expect him to be back soon after the Munster final as well. But next week is not an option for Matty."

The squad is largely intact, the injury list is shorter than it might have been, and Cork know exactly where they stand heading into the biggest test of their campaign.